Decisions
by Coz
Summary: [Complete] How can one simple piece of paper be of such importance to so many lives? It is it possible for so few words to make such a difference? Could one sheet of paper be something of global or even intergalactic importance?


**So, I'm back. See I haven't dropped off the face of the planet! I've been really busy at work and a couple of broken fingers didn't help matters. I was planning on writing another chapter of Do you believe but this happened instead!! Never mind, eh!**

**It's a bit of a shippy fic but not the fluff I've written in the past. Anyway I hope you enjoy it, let me know what you think.**

**And of course thanks to Naliza for the beta!!**

* * *

How can one simple piece of paper be of such importance to so many lives? Is it possible for so few words to make such a difference? Could one sheet of paper be something of global or even intergalactic importance?

Jack was pondering these questions and more as he sat at the computer in his office with the newly printed document in his hands. It had taken him an hour to type, another half hour to print out and this was how he found himself, sitting in his office, at almost midnight wondering what to do next.

It was a big decision to make but it was one he had taken before. It had been easier then though. There were more things pulling away from this life than keeping him in it, he had seen enough then and believed he had done his part. But Hammond had called him back and he had seen more and found some other reason to keep on going.

Now there was something else pulling him away from this life but this time it was not pain or suffering, it was also not due to too much blood on his hands. It was something good, it was something or more accurately someone he could love. Someone he did love.

But there was something driving a wedge between them, they both knew it, they had both acknowledged it. But it was coming to a time that he wanted to do what was right for him. He had served his country and now his planet for all his adult life. It had nearly destroyed him; the memories still lurked beneath the surface, ever present, threatening to destroy him at any time.

He wondered if it was time to stop. Stop fighting and start living another life. Without the military he was sure he could do that and definitely sure he could make a new life with someone he loved and who loved him back.

It would sound like the simplest choice to an outside observer; a choice between living a life filled with blood and death or to choose a quiet life with the woman he loved.

It was not that simple for him, as harsh as it sounded, blood and death had been such a big part of his life for such a long time, he had seen it so much that he could not help but wonder whether it was even possible for him to live the quiet life.

But still here he was, considering just that.

* * *

She sat staring at the envelope propped up on the kitchen counter. General Hammond's name printed on the front in her neat script. It was not the hardest letter she had ever written but she had frequently found herself lost for words. Pausing ever minute wondering if she was doing the right thing or not. Every time she doubted herself, she managed to talk herself back into continuing with the task.

She had seen so much in her time at the SGC, discovered enough to make any physicist green with envy. She also made enough new discoveries and inventions to keep her writing journal articles and books for the rest of her life. That would be if she could ever tell anyone of her findings.

But even without that opportunity she was wondering if she had seen enough. She had proved herself, not to those around her but to herself.

Despite her education and her scientific nature, she had always believed in the fairytale. She thought she had it with Jonas, but had been proved spectacularly wrong there. And now she found herself with less of a fairytale and more of an epic tragic love story.

She knew that unless someone acted, they would be stuck in the never-ending circle that they had found themselves in time and time again. In her heart she wanted to see what could happen. She had seen more than she had ever dreamed about, travelled in space, saved the world. She had other options open to her, so she had decided to act on it but she continued to doubt her decision.

She wondered if she would still be as happy as she was now without everything she did. If she could just give up everything she had worked for over the years.

But still here she was, considering just that.

* * *

He looked at the letter again; the letter that would mean the end of his Air Force career, the letter that tended his resignation.

With a deep sigh he took the letter in both his hands and tore it straight down the middle. After tearing it twice more, he dropped it in the shredder, watching as the letter he had spent so long writing was destroyed.

* * *

She turned again to look at the letter; it had been burning a hole in the back of her head for the hour she had been pretending to concentrate on the inane show on the TV.

She stood and crossed back to the kitchen counter to pick up the envelope. After another minute she tore the envelope open and took out the letter in order to read the precisely typed words once again. Once she had finished she tore the letter into small pieces, letting them drop from her hands onto the polished wood floor.

* * *

Jack looked back at the computer, the words were still there, despite the fact he had destroyed the paper evidence. His finger hovered over the delete key but he found that he was not able to do it. Instead he saved the document in a password protected file. Although it was not the right time now he knew that there would be a time in the future when it would be needed.

* * *

She dropped the last tiny piece of paper on the floor. Walking slowly through to her office she ejected the floppy disk from the drive. Staring intently at it, she dropped it in the small waste paper basket. She turned to leave the room, to go to bed but as her hand hovered over the light switch she paused.

With a sigh and a slight smile she went back to the bin and picked up the disk. Taking a copy of the Air Force Regulations from the shelf above the computer, she slid the disk between two of the pages and put the book back on the shelf.

She knew there would be a time when the disk would be needed and that book would not.

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**What did you all think?? Answers in a review!**


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